Netanyahu Says Iran's Entire Nuclear Program Must Go

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO
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Netanyahu Says Iran's Entire Nuclear Program Must Go

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, 24 April 2025. EPA/MAYA ALLERUZZO

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated calls for Iran's entire nuclear infrastructure to be dismantled, as Washington and Tehran engage in talks for a nuclear accord.

The United States and Iran have so far held three rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Oman, aimed at sealing a deal that would block Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but also lift crippling economic sanctions imposed by Washington.
After talks in Rome earlier this month, Oman said that the US and Iran were pursuing an accord that would see Tehran "completely free" of nuclear weapons and sanctions but "maintaining its ability to develop peaceful nuclear energy."
Netanyahu said the only "good deal" would be one that removed "all of the infrastructure" akin to the 2003 agreement that Libya made with the West that saw it give up its nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs.
Israeli officials have long vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, an assertion Netanyahu repeated.
Israel has not ruled out attacking Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Netanyahu that the US was for now unwilling to support such an operation, Reuters reported on April 19, citing an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter.
Netanyahu, speaking late on Sunday in Jerusalem, said that he had told Trump that any nuclear agreement reached with Iran should also prevent Tehran from developing ballistic missile.
An Iranian official told Reuters this month that Tehran saw its missile program as the main sticking point in US talks.
Iran in April 2024 and again in October 2024 attacked Israel with drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles after Israel had killed Iranian generals and officials from Iranian proxies.
"We are in close contact with the United States. But I said, one way or the other, Iran will not have nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said at a conference organized by the Jewish News Syndicate, referring to a conversation he had with Trump.



Iran Says Fire Contained after Deadly Blast at Key Port

A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)
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Iran Says Fire Contained after Deadly Blast at Key Port

A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Red Crescent Society official channel shows a helicopter spraying water at the Rajaie port in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, 27 April 2025 (issued 28 April 2025). (EPA/ Iranian Red Crescent Society/ Handout)

Firefighters have brought under control a blaze at Iran's main port, following a deadly explosion blamed on negligence, authorities said.

The explosion, heard dozens of kilometers (miles) away, hit a dock at the southern port of Shahid Rajaee on Saturday.

At least 70 people were killed and more than 1,000 others suffered injuries in the blast and ensuing fire, which also caused extensive damage, state media reported.

Red Crescent official Mokhtar Salahshour told the channel late Monday that the fire had been "contained" and a clean-up was under way.

State television aired live footage on Tuesday showing thick smoke rising from stacked containers.

Iran's ILNA news agency quoted Hossein Zafari, spokesman for the country's crisis management organization, as saying the situation had improved significantly since Monday.

However, "the operation and complete extinguishing process may take around 15 to 20 days", the agency reported.

Iran's customs authority said port operations had returned to normal, according to the IRNA news agency.

The port of Shahid Rajaee lies near the major coastal city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.

Hormozgan provincial governor Mohammad Ashouri ruled out sabotage.

"The set of hypotheses and investigations carried out during the process indicated that the sabotage theory lacks basis or relevance," he told state television late Monday.

The port´s customs office said the blast may have started in a depot storing hazardous and chemical materials.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said there were "shortcomings, including noncompliance with safety precautions and negligence".

A committee assigned to investigate the blast cited similar factors as the likely cause.